It's very simple really. Take X Factor and make
it as cheesy as possible (yes, even more cheesy than it already is). Add in
some really bad acts and some weird characters, throw in a few unknowns and
see what happens.

David Samuels

Now I might be wrong, but casting shows like X-Factor, Pop
Idol, The Voice or whatever they're called these days seem to
have been a source of inspiration for Awesome
Killer Auditions - am I at all correct in that assumption, and your
personal take on these shows and the "talent" they spawn?

It
was a total piss take from start to finish and not just the acts. Even the
judges were put together to create that edge. Like Simon Cowell, the one
who is obnoxious and one who sucks up to the acts.

You decided to shoot Awesome
Killer Auditions with two cameras in one long take - why, and in
retrospect, do you stand by your decision? And honestly, was there any
"cheating" involved?

The
reason I wanted to do it was simple, the natural flow of a room full of
real talent of which 90% had no idea what was going to happen. You can't
stop and start something like that and still have that feeling of shock.
Most of them had no idea. In fact only Rudy [Rudy
Barrow interview - click here] and Eirian [Eirian Cohen
interview - click here] knew what was going
to happen and even they didn't know how people would react.

Do talk about your cast
for a bit, and what made you choose exactly these people?

Michelle Gent threatened by Rudy Barrow

Rudy
was a simple choice, because he is brilliant at improvisation. Michelle [Michelle
Gent interview - click here] on
the judging panel because she's a female version of Cowell – she speaks
her mind. The rest were all told to come up with their own act and to try
and make them all different. A lot of credit goes to them all because they
really did do great.

The
little acts your actors perform for their "auditions" - were
they at all pre-planned or did they come up with those themselves?

Mostly
all by themselves with a little discussion before hand. Some really funny
stuff in there that you just couldn't have planned.

Now
honestly, how difficult was it to keep a straight face during all of the
proceedings?

I was crying with
laughter behind the camera I can tell you. Funniest film I ever did.

What can you tell us about the actual
shoot, and the on-set atmosphere?

There
was a lot of anticipation and a few nerves because they were all told
something bad would happen when they least expected it and nobody knew who
the stooge was.

What can you tell us
about critical and audience reception of your film so far?

I
have no idea whatsoever. Anybody who knows me will tell you – I make a
film, I forget about it and move on to the next. If I cared about critics
and such I would have given up and shot myself a long time ago!

We
might want to add here that Awesome Online Magazine is an actual
magazine - care to talk about it for a bit?

It
was an idea to create something that was only positive, no moaning, no
gripes, just celebrating all the talent, all the great indie things like
music and movies. It has an amazing readership.

I
am working on several things at the moment. Some of them are under wraps
right now and some are well, with money men and you know how long that
crap can take. Just finished a documentary on Exorcisms and another on the
Loch Ness Monster with some shocking new evidence that came to light and
another that we are now in the research stages of that is very secret. We
had some footage come in that you would not believe and so I am planning a
trip to Slovenia in the next few weeks to go and get to the bottom of it.